More confusion trial FG’s claims on progress of work on $1 billion Ogoni cleanup
The Nigerian Senate has joined the league of bodies trailing recent discovery that work may not have started on the publicized resumption of cleanup activities at polluted sites in Ogoniland, Rivers State.
Speaking at plenary, the Senate mandated its committee on environment to investigate the implementation of the celebrated Ogoni cleanup exercise. The Federal Government launched the Ogoni cleanup project in June last year with an initial cost of $1 billion.
The resolution of the Senate followed the adoption of a motion on “World Environment Day” sponsored by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
Tinubu had told her colleagues that it was worrisome that in spite of the launch of the Ogoni cleanup campaign, it does not appear that work has commenced in the area. Tinubu in her lead debate noted that June 5 is World Environment Day, set aside to create awareness for environmental issues and protection of the environment.
Only recently, the Ogoni community in partnership with Amnesty International raised alarm saying the federal government has apparently dumped the celebrated resumption of cleanup operations.
But in a swift reaction, the Minister of State for Environment, Alhaji Jibrin during a visit to a national daily in Abuja, claimed that work is in progress at the sites in Ogoniland.
However, in another swift reaction to the Minister’s claims, the Rivers State government expressed anger on the observed delay in the cleanup of the Ogoni polluted sites and the entire Niger Delta six years after the UNEP released detailed report of the despoliation of the region’s
The State Commissioner for Environment, Professor Roseline Konya, at an event marking this year’s World Environment Day in Port Harcourt said the state government cannot understand what is really happening in the name of cleanup in Ogoniland by the federal government.
Konya’s submission was corroborated by the Ogoni Youth Federation (OYF) who equally decried the delay in implementing the UNEP report and threatened to resist any attempt by the NNPC resume oil exploration in Ogoni land.
OYF National Coordinator, Yamaabana Legborsi, said resumption of oil production in Ogoni without completion of cleaning up the environment remains unacceptable.
